Here we are again, it's that time of year when all fans approach the season on an equal footing, with different aspirations and expectations maybe, but with their hopes still untarnished by the harsh realities of actual games.
First up for us is Kilmarnock away, and if anything was endemic of last year's shortcomings then it was exactly this sort of game. I know the gaffer has repeatedly said that the games againast Celtic are the crux to regaining what is ours but winning the Old firm games will be ultimately pointless if we aren't capitalising in the rest of the fixtures.
Much as I love beating Celtic I'm firmly with Mr Souness when he said he would take defeats against them if it guaranteed a Premier League crown at the end of it.
I don't envisage the team being greatly different from the AC Milan line up and a repeat performance of the first half in that game would be very welcome as long as we sustain it for 90 minutes. Much as young McGregor impressed in Belfast there is no way that Klos will not be in the starting line up, and in front of him I expect to see Moore and Amoruso making a solid start to the season with Ricksen and Niman either side of them. I'm sure that an on form pairing of Ferguson and Arteta will dictate the midfield although a Gattuso type player would free them up so much more to hit where it really hurts. This is an area where everyone will have topull their weight to ensure success this season if we are going to fully utilise the pace of the new Prince of Denmark.
The one area that worries me is goalscoring and I feel that this is the only area where Celtic are better than us but it's Kilmarnock we're playing and we must keep in mind how our failure to kill teams off last year let us down. I expect Flo to start on the bench as he failed to impress in America and in Belfast although he may figure in the later stages. Hopefully an early goal will settle us down and I'm going for us to get it and go on to win 3-0 or 3-1 to set us up nicely for the Dundee game at home.